Author: roncookauthor

We’re starting the year out with sunshine. However, it’s chilly. Frost warnings have been in effect in the mountains and valleys, but usually not in our part of Santa Cruz. Where we live is just a half block from the ocean, which keeps our temperature a few degrees higher than further inland. It is very rare for us to have a freeze here.

As for Ron Cook Studios, I’ve been working on some new, small instruments to add to my Etsy store. At the end of December, just after Christmas, I finished two mini mbiras (thumb pianos). I’m now working on two full-sized mbiras. One of them will be electric. It will have three transducer mics with a 1/4″ connector. It will come with a tiny, battery-powered Fender amplifier that has a small speaker in it. I’ve purchased and sold several of these with other electrified instruments I’ve made, and they do sound very good for their size.

I’m also trying to finish up several other items. So, since it’s January 1st, it’s time to make some resolutions. Here goes:

1. Finish carving dulcimer noters
2. Finish carving spoons
3. Work on third medieval trestle stool
4. Finish two more mbiras (thumb pianos)
5. Work on my writing (not Ron Cook Studios, but Ron Cook-Author)

I probably should add a few more to this list, but I don’t want to be unachievable.

Once again, Happy New Year.

Not too much to report this time. I’ve been spending more time writing than making sawdust. However, I did purchase some more hardware for several thumb pianos (Mbiras). I plan to make two more “mini” 8 note thumb pianos and two more standard sized ones. Also, one of them will be electric. I made an electric one several years ago, and it sounded great amplified and unamplified.

I still haven’t finished my next mini hog nose psaltery. It’s got very little left to go on it, and I need to take the time to complete it. Also, I haven’t finished carving several dulcimer noters that I roughed out months ago. When I finish my next book, I can then take a break and work in my studio again.

To see my novels and books, check out my other website at www.roncook-author.com.

Until next time…

I actually made some sawdust in October! Even though I’m retired from Open Studios events and traveling to shows, once in a while I need to breath in the scent of cut wood.

The main items I created were several pieces for my wife’s rigid heddle looms. I made boat shuttles, stick shuttles, tapestry bobbins, ski shuttles, and rag shuttles. Since I have so much wood in my stash, and way too many scrap pieces I’ve saved over the years, much of it is long enough for my wife’s 20″ loom.

One item I made for myself was a new outdoor side table for our patio chairs to replace an old one made from a slice of tree trunk that broke from age. It’s salvaged maple coated with an outdoor UV protecting varnish. It’s just the right size for a couple of wine glasses and a small plate of cheese and crackers. Of course, with the time change, colder weather, and potential rains, it won’t get much use until we warm up again next Spring.

Other than tinkering with wood, I’ve been constantly writing up a storm, working on three novels. One is done and going through multiple edits, and the other two are moving along okay. Not great, but okay. (Too many life-associated distractions.) The one being edited is my one-off novel, Murder at the Commune. It is what is often called a modern historical novel, taking place in the late 1960s. Another novel I’m working on is the fourth in my Charles Blue Paranormal Mysteries, A Warlock in Provence. These are also modern historical novels, taking place from the 1960s to the 1980s. Now, the third novel I’m working on is, hopefully, the first of another series I call The Jonas Shaw Mysteries. It’s about an ex-policeman who is a luthier, a builder of stringed instruments, who attends craft shows around the country. Of course, murder happens.

Well, until next month, keep warm and enjoy the upcoming Holidays.

I haven’t been in my studio at all during the month of September. I haven’t breathed in any sawdust for a long time. I still have four projects I need to complete before the end of the year, so I can add some new items to my Etsy shop.

Nearly all of September, I’ve been working on my new novel, Murder at the Commune. It is now going through a major developmental edit, and I hope to have it released by the Holiday season.

I finally got to take a break for three days during the last weekend in September. I drove from Santa Cruz to Sacramento to visit an old friend. We’ve been besties for 60 years now. We ventured into California’s gold rush country to taste some incredible wines. Sutter Creek has a half dozen tasting rooms along its historic main street.

Before we went tasting, we spent several hours four-wheeling along a bumpy, dusty country road, over hills and gravely washes, ending up crossing a funky, one-lane bridge barely wide enough for my Jeep Wrangler. Just past that bridge was miles of dredge tailings along the Consumnes River. Quite a bit of gold was removed from that area. It was a very fun trip.

So, during October, I hope to get back into my studio and do some carving. It’s been a while. Hope I remember how to do it! (Ha!)

The sawdust in my blood is thinning out. I didn’t work on any instruments in the month of August. I did work on a couple of cutting boards and trivets using pieces of oak, maple, and black walnut scraps. I also made a special board with vertical dowels for holding balls and cones of yarn. This is to help my wife set up her 24″ rigid heddle loom. Well, I did get a little bit of a sawdust transfusion.

For the rest of the month, I wrote. I’m trying to finish up one book and working on two others. For info on my books and what’s coming up, go to my www.roncook-author.com website.

Back in the workshop I do have one more mini hognose psaltery that needs finishing. Maybe this month I can get that one done. I also need to finish up carving some more dulcimer noters and spoons. They’re all roughed out and just need a few hours on each to finish them.

For now, it’s time to enjoy the day. We’ve had lovely 70 to 90 degree weather here in Santa Cruz for days now. Guess I should go water the garden… Onward!

On Tuesday, July 16th, my wife and I flew out to spend a week in Binghamton, New York. On Friday was a combined Windsor High School reunion ice breaker for classes of 1964 (60th) and 1965 (59th) at an Elks Club. On Saturday was a five hour bbq and clambake at a mountain events facility close to the Pennsylvania border. The hundreds in attendance were from several years of Windsor graduates. I ate too much…

Flying to the small Binghamton airport took three jets. We flew out of San José to Los Angeles. After a wait, we boarded a larger jet and flew to Detroit where we had around a three hour layover. A much smaller jet took us from there to Binghamton.

Coming back was a @%&**% pain. We flew Delta and they were still in dire straits from that big security software crash that grounded planes all over the world. It also affected hospital computers causing many scheduled operations and procedures to be cancelled.

Our flight home from Binghamton started a few minutes late, but did fly. However, when we got to Detroit again, our flight to Salt Lake City was cancelled. Our first encounter with Delta’s help desk was painful. The attendant said we couldn’t get a flight for two days. A second attendant took over and five hours later we got the last two seats on a non-stop to San Francisco. Hooray! My wife contacted the airporter limosine service and they changed their pickup from San José to San Francisco. We finally walked into our house at 6pm.

Now… all was fine for two days. Then… I got sick. It was probably either from someone on the flights or in the crowded Detroit airport. Fortunately, it was not Covid. Just a super bad cold. Very sore neck, sore throat, then a lot of coughing. After six days, my neck is still a little sore, and my coughing has slowed down. It’s been a bummer week with very little sleep. I haven’t had a cold in over five years.

As for woodworking, I did very little this last month before we went traveling. I did clean up my studio and shop, something I really needed to do. I still have a mini hog-nose psaltery that’s close to being done. I hope to finish it in the next week or so. (God willing and the creek don’t rise…)

For now, I’ve been attempting to write and work on the two novels that are both at 10,000 to 12,000 words. Only 60,000 to 80,000 more to go.

June was a busy month. Most of it was spent writing on the two books I’m working on. One is the fourth in my Charles Blue Paranormal Mystery series called A Warlock in Provence. The other is the first of my Jonas Shaw Mystery series called Strung Up! Jonas Shaw is a retired motorcycle policeman who is a luthier, a stringed instrument builder, who exhibits at art festivals and craft shows. Of course, murder happens.

I also spent quite a bit of time gardening and planting veggies. After a lot of weeding, my wife and I planted pole beans, tomatoes, beets, Persian cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. We’ve already harvested our first cucumbers.

Several days I spent in my studio, working on a few small items to put on my Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/roncook). Check it out to see what I have in there.

Later in July we are flying east to Binghamton, New York, where my wife is attending her 60th high school reunion. (Really? 60th? Whew!) Hopefully, it won’t be too hot… or rainy, while we’re there.

That’s it for now. More writing to do…

I took a few breaks from writing my next book to spend some time in my studio and shop. I’ve been working on several instruments and actually finished one.

My wife recently bought another Ashford ridgid hettle loom. Her original loom was only 12 inches wide and good for making scarves. She always wanted a wider one to make place mats and other wider weavings. Her new one is 20 inches wide and is attached to a floor stand. When we set it up, it wasn’t too stable, so I immediatly added some braceing to stablize it. She then showed me a picture of shuttles that are called ski shuttles.

I made two of the top ski shuttles and one long one like the bottom in the picture. They are 12 inches long. I have one more like the bottom one that is 8 inches long.

As for instruments, the one I completed is a miné Saxon lyre. The body is elm that came from trees removed from San José State College. The top is the remainder of some koa I purchased in Kona, Hawaii, in 1994.

Other instruments I’ve been working on are a mini hog nose psaltery and another psaltery based on the 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria illuminated manuscript.

Well, time to get back to writing more on my next book. Onward…

Even though I’ve retired from doing art and craft shows and not spending as much time in my studio, I am still maintaining my Etsy shop, and working on a few small pieces to add to my stock. A new mini Saxon Rote (lyre) will be completed mid May, followed by a mini hog-nose psaltery. Both have koa tops from wood I purchased in Kona, Hawaii, back in 1994.

What is newsworthy now, is my writing. I am working on book 4 of my Charles Blue Paranormal Mysteries. Books 1, 2, and 3 are available in bookstores and online through Barnes & Noble and Amazon. (Links are on my Author website here.) All books are in both print and ebook formats.

My new murder mystery, Murder at the Commune, has just been released May 10th. It will soon be available through all the normal sources.

A few weeks ago we were in Bellevue, Washington, for the Left Coast Crime mystery book convention. I attended a lot of panels during the four days of the convention. I was not disappointed in any of them. I also got to get together with old author friends and was able to meet several more. A good time was had by all. Next year the 2025 convention is in Denver. We already have our hotel and flights set up.

So, almost daily I alternate between making a little sawdust and writing… sawdust, writing, etc.

Onward…

It has been a few months since my last newsletter. Because I’ve retired from doing art and craft shows, not too much is going on.

I am still maintaining my Etsy shop, and do have a few small pieces I’m working on to add to the stock. Sales have been good this year with the sale of a few stringed instruments, but the biggest seller, for some reason, is my Mountain Dulcimer book. There have been almost a dozen sales since just before Christmas… most during the first three months of this year.

Not long ago I added some vintage stringed instruments I bought and restored to my Etsy shop. There are currently three autoharps from the 1890s to early 1900s. All were manufactured in Dolgeville, New York. There is also a chord zither available. It is also from the early 1900s.

Not much else happening right now, so time to sign off. Onward…